Find a Way
by durillium
Summary: AU/AH. Elena leaves her best friends and Mystic Falls behind without an explanation nor a proper goodbye. When she returns around a year later, will everything still be the same? And how much has each person's life changed?
1. Prologue

**Well, hello to the land of fanfiction! It's been a while. Okay, let's just get to the point.**

**I wrote this fic maybe a year and a half ago and it was during a time where school(work) was getting to me and basically, I used writing as my escape? Sorta. Anyways, I, in no way, think this is the best thing I've ever written hahaha nor is it great quality writing (geez, I hope I've improved now that I'm a high school graduate) but yeah, it was rushed and it's... well, you'll see if you keep on reading it, but I had fun writing it and that's the main thing, right? Either way, I'm gonna start posting it now, and I'm currently in the process of doing some minor editing (like _really _basic editing, I'm not gonna change the whole story or whatever) so yeah, here it is! 16 year old me's writing. I hope it's bearable and that at least one person gets some enjoyment out of it, even if it's silly hahaha.**

**Enjoy! :)**

******Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries, nor any of the characters associated with it. Unfamiliar characters, however, do belong to me.**

* * *

**Prologue**

_12__th__ August, 2010_

_You could hear the pulsating music from down the street. Teenagers filled the place, milling around the front porch and yard, alcoholic drinks in their hands, some tipsy, some completely gone and others helping the drunk ones. The rest were scattered throughout the large house, dancing to the beats and of course, drinking. It seemed the house was on its way to getting trashed._

_Elena carefully stepped through the large group of drunken teens, her arms wrapped around herself self consciously, her eyes set on the front door. "Excuse me," she said quietly, trying to get past a few jocks. One turned around, grinning lazily at her._

_"Hey! Elena!" he slurred slightly, his breath wreaking of strong alcohol. Elena recognised him from her French class but couldn't remember his name. "Joining the party, babe?"_

_"Uh..." Elena paused for a second, glancing at him. "Sort of. I need to find my friends."_

_The jock attempted the stop her but Elena continued, pushing past people until she was safely through the front door. She looked around the familiar hallway, her eyes spotting out her friend Caroline through the living room's doorway. She was about to make her way to her but stopped when she noticed Caroline to be occupied. Sighing, Elena turned around and headed down the hallway, to the kitchen. She found her best friends, both sitting at the kitchen island, conversing quietly, completely oblivious to the world and environment around them. She marched up to them, slumping down into the seat opposite of them._

_"Elena," Bonnie said suddenly, looking up. Stefan followed suit, a surprised look crossing his face. "I thought you weren't gonna come."_

_"Well, I changed my mind," Elena replied, shrugging. "I couldn't bear sitting through Aunt Jenna yelling at Jeremy to get off his ass and him ignoring her until a full on argument blew out. It gets old."_

"_I'd figure that could get annoying," Bonnie nodded knowingly, having been around a few arguments herself. Ever since the death of Elena's parents a few years ago, Bonnie barely ever recognised her best friend's younger brother at all. It was sometimes unnerving how much he'd changed from the lively guy he used to be to the quiet, almost constantly angry teenager._

"_Ya think?" Elena muttered, leaning across the countertop on her elbows, her head in her hands. "So, what's been happening around here?"_

"_Uh… People getting drunk?" Stefan stated in obviousness._

"_And hooking up all over the place," Bonnie added in disgust, watching a completely oblivious couple over Elena's shoulder. "I don't even wanna know what's going on there…"_

_A small chuckle left Elena as she looked across at her friends. "And you two have been confined to this part of the house… why?"_

"_I don't feel like partying," Bonnie sighed._

"_And I'm not leaving Bonnie on her own with drunken idiots running around," Stefan told her. Elena smiled admiringly at him almost instantly. He was so caring, so genuine. It was one of the countless reasons she loved him. It took her a few moments to realise she was still staring at Stefan before she quickly turned her eyes back to Bonnie, who had a knowing smirk on her face._

_"Very thoughtful of you, Stefan," Elena said, giving Bonnie a pointed look, who just sent back an innocent one._

_"Yeah, thanks, Stefan. You're a sweetheart," Bonnie said genuinly, turning to smile at him before standing up. "I'm gonna go home while Caroline's distracted. Or too drunk to notice I'm gone, I don't know, I'll go check on her status now. I'll see you two tomorrow, at The Grill."_

_Giving them one last cheery wave and smile, Bonnie turned on her heel and made her way out of the kitchen, but not before throwing Elena one last knowing smirk._

_"Great. I get here and she decides to leave," Elena muttered, looking at Stefan now, her eyes focusing on him. An instant smile reached her lips as she watched him for a second. "You seem sort of upset. Another fight with Damon?"_

_Stefan glanced up at Elena, meeting her eyes. The look shared between the two was enough to confirm Elena's thoughts. She nodded once slowly, wracking her mind for something to say. "I guess we're both kinda dealing with family issues tonight," she told him quietly. Stefan shrugged a little._

_"He's still pining away for Rebekah, still hates me and won't believe that Rebekah up and leaving town was possibly the best thing to have happened," he told her tonelessly. He shrugged his shoulders seconds later. "He's the same old Damon; can hold a grudge for years before it's even remotely possible for him to get over it."_

_Elena's eyebrows furrowed in disappointment, hating the fact that the two brothers she'd known her entire life were at major odds now. Life sucked. "Yeah, well, I don't see why he hates you," she said. "I mean, Rebekah was the one all up on you," she added, unable to keep the jealousy from her voice but it seemed that Stefan hadn't noticed. "You pushed her off and told her to leave."_

_"And Damon knows that was how it happened," Stefan said dully, leaning forward. "He just chooses to put most of the blame on me, despite the fact that he broke up with her anyway."_

_"Well, Damon needs to get over it," Elena said shortly, sending a pointed look Stefan's way. "You're his brother. She was just some... Dumb girl that messed it up big time." __**Though I do understand why she was so attracted to you,**__ Elena's internal voice went off. __**I understand it very, very well.**_

_Shrugging his shoulders nonchalantely, it was clear that Stefan didn't believe a word she said; or refused to believe them anyway. It annoyed her just that little bit, knowing that even though Damon was pinning the blame on his younger brother when he was clearly innocent, Stefan didn't bother too much with making it known that he wasn't to blame for what had happened. Not anymore._

_Sighing, Elena shook her head. "Tell you what, let's just try and forget our family dramas for tonight and try to have fun instead."_

_"Fun?" Stefan questioned cautiously, slowly raising an eyebrow at her. Elena smirked a little and nodded her head. Stefan chuckled nervously. "Uh, not really feeling up to it, 'Lena."_

_"Oh, come on, Stefan!" she whined playfully, pouting a little for dramatic effect. "I know this isn't really our... Idea of fun," she said, motioning to their rowdy surroundings, "but there's a first time for everything, right?" Stefan sent her a semi-amused, semi-warning look. "Besides, it's not like we haven't had a drink before," she added with a small giggle._

_Stefan grinned almost instantly at the memory of himself, Elena and Bonnie, at the young age of fourteen, when they'd been trusted and left alone in the Gilbert house. They'd decided to try out some of the liquor Elena had found that her parents had hid away. Of course, a little had turned into too much and their parents had come back home to the sight of three laughing, stumbling and slurring teenagers. They'd been grounded for two weeks, with no contact with each other outside of school._

_"And that turned out fantastic," Stefan remembered sarcastically as he laughed lightly at the memory._

_Elena tilted her head to the side and widened her eyes at him. "A few won't hurt," she reasoned before a smirk came across her features once more. "We're not fourteen anymore, Stefan. We're sixteen, and I'm sure we can tolerate our alcohol a little better now."_

_Stefan watched his best friend carefully, studied her wide, begging brown eyes and her slightly pouty lips and couldn't help but chuckle as he felt his resolve slowly swaying before crumbling. He nodded a little. "Fine then. But you better not pass out on me!"_

_Jumping off of her stool, Elena grinned mischievously. "Oh, I won't," she winked__._

* * *

_The music was still pumping, loud and strong. It was just past one in the morning and Caroline's party was anything but dying down yet. Teenagers were still dancing around the place, drinks in hand._

_Elena was way past tipsy at this point, as was Stefan. One drink had turned into two, two to three, four, seven and soon, they, too, were busy laughing and dancing to the music, keeping each other from stumbling and losing balance. No one really paid them much attention, except for that one time Caroline had bounced up to them, slurred words and bubbly spirit, throwing her arms around them and questioning if they were having a good time before slinking away back to Matt._

_The music soon took a brief pause before the next track sounded throughout the house, the sensual and slightly slower melody filling their ears. Elena giggled delightfully at Stefan, who was busy watching her, captivated by her, before she curled her fingers into his shirt and pulled herself to him. She expertly swung her hips to the beats, moving against him a little, her fingers loosening their hold on his shirt. She flawlessly tossed her long hair over one shoulder just as she felt Stefan quickly twirl her around, her back pressing again his chest and her heart rate slowing as everything else around them faded into thin air._

_"Don't be a tease," Stefan muttered into her ear, his hot breath making a wickedly pleasurable shiver course through her veins and down her spine. She could feel his lips ghosting at the skin of her neck, her breath hitching a little at the realisation._

_**Well, two can play at that game.**_

_Elena smirked a little as she managed to get her arms out of Stefan's grip, one arm slowly snaking up and back, and around his neck. Her fingers threaded through his hair just as she lightly grinded against him, giggling softly as she felt his hold around her waist tighten dangerously. She rolled her hips again, boldly grinding into him this time, and she swore she heard him growl right into her ear._

_"That's it," Stefan said shortly, letting go of her as she slowly retracted her arm and glanced at him in confusion. Before she could say anything, Stefan led her straight into a surprisingly deserted hallway, pressing her to a shadowed wall, his lips descending hers hungrily. Elena pressed right back into him, hands clutching desperately onto his shoulders, her tongue meeting his as they battled passionately. Her hand slowly trailed downwards, skimming his covered side before pulling him impossibly closer by his waist, moaning into his mouth as she felt the length of him prodding against her._

_"Stefan..." Elena slurred dazedly as their lips parted and his travelled down her jaw, to her neck, leaving burning, open-mouthed kisses against her sweet skin. S__o there, Elena pressed up against the wall, Stefan's hands roaming her body as he trailed his lips lazily up and down her neck, her soft sighs and mewls in his ear, she pressed her lips to his ear, breathing out slightly before speaking. "Stefan... Let's get back to your place."_

_Neither cared, nor bothered with thinking of how this unexpected drunken turn of events would affect them the next morning. All that mattered at that point in time was that they wanted and needed each other, and nothing would stop them. Not even Damon, whom they knew would be out all night long._

_And so, they managed to separate long enough for them to successfully make their way to Stefan's car (Elena had walked considering she didn't live very far). The car ride back to the Salvatore mansion was a lucky one. The two made it to the house in one piece despite being intoxicated and Elena being unable to keep her hands to herself - not that Stefan minded at all._

_Their warm mouths melted against each others as they stumbled into Stefan's bedroom, pulling each other closer. Heat emitted off of the other's skin, driving the two wild with want. Elena's fingers threading through his already dishevelled hair and tugging at it, she released an unexpected yelp of surprise as she felt her back slam against the wooden door, closing it in the process. He had her pinned against the door, his body flush against hers, driving her completely insane. She heard the slight fiddle with the door before the lock slid into place, his lips detaching from hers, trailing against her jaw instead._

_It didn't take long until their shoes and clothes lay in a trail on the floor, leading to Stefan's bed where they both toppled onto the mattress, Elena settling her legs either side of him as she broke the kiss. She looked down at him for a moment before moving down, her lips trailing wet, sloppy, open-mouthed kisses down his chest and back up his throat. A gutteral groan errupted from Stefan, his hands instantly going to her waist, lifting her off easily before flipping them over so that he was the one hovering over her._

_Without any other words, sounds or movements, Stefan slowly entered her, his face burying into the side of her neck, suppressing himself from releasing any sort of pleasured sound, unlike Elena, who wasn't afraid of moaning out her approval, a sigh passing her lips._

_They moved together, creating a slow and steady rhythm as Stefan nipped, sucked and bit down against her neck, soothing the skin with warm kisses, her soft mewls filling his ears, her nails digging into his back. They easily got lost in each other.__So lost in each other, so overcome with desire and hazy judgement that they both didn't bother to remember to use protection._

* * *

_**Thud. Thud. Thud.**_

_Was that her head? Elena slowly came about to consciousness, shifting her legs slightly before attempting to move her entire body only to be stopped by a surging pain in her head._

"_Ow…" Elena murmured quietly, wincing as she brought a hand up to her pounding head. It hurt like hell. __**Maybe I shouldn't have drunk as much as I did last night,**__ she thought to herself. She made a mental note not to do such a thing ever again._

_Resettling herself warmly without having to open her eyes, Elena relished the silence as she tried to get back to sleep, wanting nothing more than to sleep her killer hangover away._

_**Thud. Thud. Thud.**_

"_Stefan, rise and shine! Get up!"_

_Elena froze stiff upon hearing that voice. She'd know that voice anywhere. It belonged to none other than Damon Salvatore, Stefan's older brother. But what in the hell was Damon doing there…?_

_Elena dared herself to open her eyes and take in her familiar surroundings, finding herself in Stefan's bedroom. She managed to silence her surprised gasp before it escaped her. What in the world was she doing there? They couldn't have possibly… no way._

_Turning her head quickly to the other side, ignoring the bout of pain that shot through her skull, Elena found Stefan, fast asleep, his face buried into his pillows and only the lower half of his body clad in his boxers. Elena suddenly became aware of her own body as she looked down, finding herself covered by Stefan's thin comforter, his one arm draped around her waist loosely. __**Oh no…**_

"_Fuck no," Elena muttered under her breath, reality hitting her like a brick to the face, faint memories from the end of the previous night rushing to her in bits and pieces. "Fuck," she cursed once again, easily prying Stefan's arm from around her body._

_Forcing herself into a sitting position, Elena kept a firm hand holding the covers against her naked body. "Stefan. Wake up." She slowly attempted to shake him awake with her free hand. Stefan only groaned back in response, keeping his head buried into his pillows before stilling again, obviously drifting back to sleep. "Stefan!" she whisper-yelled, not wanting to attract Damon's attention to the bedroom. Stefan kept still only until he felt her slap his shoulder, __**hard.**_

"_Ow!"_

"_Get up," was all Elena said back as she swung her legs over the edge of bed and stood up, tightly wrapping the comforter around her body._

_Slowly shifting onto his side, Stefan blinked his eyes awake, wondering what on Earth was going on. He pulled himself up onto an elbow to face his best friend. "What is it, 'Lena?"_

_Elena watched him for a few moments and had they not been in this certain situation, she would've totally been internally gushing over how adorable he looked with his dishevelled hair as he rubbed his eyes sleepily. But now was not the time._

"_We had sex," she told him simply. Stefan slowly nodded, turning his head away as he blinked lazily, allowing her simple phrase to sink in. Once it had, Stefan's eyes suddenly widened and he swung his head around to look back at her._

"_We didn't," he said in disbelief but his eyes soon swept down her form, finding her wrapped in his sheets, confirming that they had, in fact, slept together. Elena watched his forest greens take her in, suddenly feeling self conscious under his gaze. "Oh my God, we did."_

_Not wanting to make the situation more awkward than it needed to be, Elena quickly turned away in search of her discarded clothes, swallowing down the small yelp of pain as it spread through her sore thighs when she moved. "Yeah, we did. Now, hurry up and get dressed. Damon was just calling for you."_

_Stefan instantly hopped out of bed, quickly throwing on his clothes from the previous night before waiting for her to finish taming her hair as best as she could at his mirror. When she turned around, her brown eyes locked on his and the two stood there, staring at each other for a few seconds. Elena could feel the heat rise in her cheeks as thoughts of what they had done the previous night infiltrated her mind. She quickly looked away and moved towards the bed, wanting to busy herself._

_But as quickly as she'd grabbed the thick blanket still sitting on Stefan's bed, she dropped it again. Her eyes lingered on the small patch of her own blood staining the bed sheets. Of course, her sudden stiff body language did not go unnoticed by Stefan._

"_What is it?" he asked as he moved towards her. Elena quickly moved, blocking his line of sight._

"_It's nothing."_

_Too late. Stefan had seen the blood stain. Concern spread through his entire being as he stared at the stain._

"_Did I hurt you?"_

_Elena turned her head to look at him. Surely, he'd know why her blood was there, right? Elena knew he'd slept with his previous girlfriends, one being Caroline, so wouldn't one of them have been a virgin? It was a little surprising. "No… Um, no, you didn't hurt me," Elena said slowly, looking back down at the sheets. She could feel Stefan's hard gaze still on her. "I promise you didn't," she said, looking back at him. "It's just… When two people sleep together and it's the girl's first, there's a possibility she could bleed a little. I… um, you were my first so…"_

"_Oh…"_

_Stefan could've kicked himself then and there. He was her first? He'd always thought she'd slept with Matt Donovan when they'd been dating the previous year. But clearly, he'd been wrong. Suddenly, guilt settled into the pit of his stomach. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He loved her too much to have let this be her first time – their first time. How could he have been so stupid about it?_

"_Elena, I'm so –"_

"_I swear to God, Stefan, if you're apologising to me right now, I will kick your ass from here to the moon," Elena glared at him. "This isn't your fault. I did this, too."_

"_But –"_

"_No," Elena shook her head, turning back to the bed and grabbing at the blanket. "Now, go and see what it is that Damon wants and I'll grab the bed sheets and take them to the laundry on my way out. Just keep Damon occupied long enough for me to leave without him knowing I was here. We don't need him on our backs."_

_Nodding obediently, Stefan took one last look at his busy best friend before silently making his way out of the room, still feeling guilty._

_Once Elena had gathered all the sheets, she tiptoed her way down the stairs and into the laundry room, ignoring the pains shooting through her head and thighs, before she turned and quietly made her way into the corridor, ready to get out of there._

"_Well, well, well. Look at what we've got here."_

_Elena froze dead in her tracks at the smug voice that she recognised as Damon's. Refraining from rolling her eyes at him, Elena straightened up and turned around, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared Damon down. He just smirked back. "Hey, Stefan, did you know that your best friend was busy lurking around our house?" he called over his shoulder, smiling arrogantly as he turned back to her._

_Stefan slowly made his way out of the kitchen, hands in his pockets as he stared at Elena, who stared back at him._

"_Decided to pay us a morning visit, huh 'Lena?" Damon chuckled sarcastically. Elena turned her gaze back onto the older Salvatore, her eyes hardening again. Stefan sighed in annoyance at his brother. "No, seriously though, you two finally start your summer romance at the end of your summer break?"_

"_No!" Elena answered, a little too quickly in her opinion. Her eyes instantly met Stefan's emerald ones to find him staring down at the floor. She instantly felt guilty. "Um, it's none of your business," she quickly recovered, looking back at Damon._

"_Right," Damon nodded, narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously._

"_I gotta go," Elena said, turning on her heel and hurriedly walking out of the mansion. Both Stefan and Damon watched as Elena slammed the front door after herself._

_Damon smirked and wolf-whistled lowly as he slowly turned to look at his younger sibling. "Wow, shit's getting interesting, baby bro."_

_Shaking his head in irritation, Stefan turned away and walked off._


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries, nor any of the characters associated with it. Unfamiliar characters, however, do belong to me.**

* * *

**Chapter One**

_One Year Later_

"And that's the last of the boxes," Aunt Jenna said tiredly as she made her way into the brand new house, kicking the front door shut with a foot, almost losing her balance.

"Whoa there, Aunt Jenna," Elena laughed, quickly rushing down the last few steps and towards her aunt and taking the box from her. "I'll take this."

"Thanks, sweetheart," Jenna smiled gratefully, flicking some hair out of her eyes. She looked around at the messy house that had yet to get unpacked and sorted. "So, you guys like the place?"

Elena carefully placed the box on top of another before wiping her hands on her jeans, turning to look at her aunt. She nodded, smiling. "Yeah, it's great," she told her, making her way over.

The two girls stood there in silence for a few moments, their eyes scanning the untidy house once more. Jenna took in a deep, content sigh, smiling over at her niece. "It's good to be back home."

Elena slowly smiled back before nodding nervously. "Yeah…"

The only thing Elena really honestly missed was the fact that her parents' tombstones were in Mystic Falls. And her friends. But she was also partially afraid of her friends' reactions to her return. After all, she wasn't expecting them at all to welcome her back with open arms… Well, maybe Bonnie, who was the only person Elena had kept in contact with after suddenly up and leaving with Jenna and Jeremy.

"Where's Jeremy?" Jenna asked as she moved towards a small box that was labelled for the kitchen.

"Upstairs, keeping an eye on Clara so I can help you out for a bit," Elena said, following her aunt into the new kitchen with a small box in her hands, too.

"She asleep?" Jenna looked over at Elena as she placed her box onto the counter, fingers peeling the tape closing it shut off successfully. Elena nodded, a smile crossing her face.

The two worked in silence after that, sorting and packing, mostly the things they'd actually be using for the time being. Elena's mind drifted back to her friends and how they would all react to her arrival at school the next week. It was nearing the end of the Christmas and New Year break and school went back into session soon. Would her friends be delighted she was back, considering she'd be starting school halfway through their Senior year? Maybe. She'd have to wait and see.

Almost an entire hour passed and both Jenna and Elena were already running out of energy as they'd been working the whole entire day. Elena was just about to take a seat when suddenly, a loud cry was heard from upstairs just before Jeremy's voice floated down the stairs.

"Elena!"

"I'm coming, Jer!" Elena sighed deeply, Jenna giving her a sympathetic look as she watched her leave.

Elena slowly made her way up the staircase and into the first bedroom to her left. They'd already furnished it with the absolute necessities as it was important. A changing table, dresser, rocking chair, small bookcase and crib all stood in the pink room. Elena found her brother standing over the crib, just staring down into it, watching the source of the loud cries.

"Jeremy!" Elena exclaimed as she marched across the room, gently pushing him aside before looking down at the crying infant. "You don't just stand there and watch her cry her little heart out!" Jeremy just shook his head and rolled his eyes as he watched his older sister lift the young girl into her arms, soothingly rubbing her back and whispering to her.

"She's yours, not mine," he said before shooting out of the room, not letting Elena get a last word in. Rolling her eyes at her brother's antics, Elena gently bounced the infant in her arms.

"Shh, baby. Mummy's here," Elena murmured, pressing a light kiss to the fussy child's head. "I'm right here, shh."

It took only a few seconds before the young girl's cries subsided, her head burying into her mother's chest sleepily, whimpering a little. Elena looked down at her little girl, her heart hurting at every small whimper she heard.

"Oh, baby, I know it hurts," Elena spoke softly, lifting Clara a little and settling her against her hip as she gently grabbed a hold of the infant's chin and made her open her mouth. Her small teeth were slowly and very painfully coming in and they were giving her the hardest time ever. "Teething sucks, doesn't it?" Elena laughed a little, pressing another kiss to her little girl's head before turning. "Let's go see if there's anything that can help a little."

"Is she okay?" Jenna asked from over her shoulder as the young mother walked in with her child in her arms.

"Yeah, she's just in a little pain," Elena said, placing Clara carefully into her already set up highchair. She turned to look at her aunt. "Where are the teething rings, Aunt Jenna?"

"Over here," Jenna smiled, chucking one at her niece. Elena laughed as she easily caught it, loving just how much Jenna had helped and supported her. She was always prepared, too. She was getting the hang of this parenting thing just as Elena was learning it.

Handing Clara the small teething ring – which she instantly began chewing on – Elena turned back to Jenna. "What're we doing about dinner?"

"I was thinking we could go to the Grill or something…" Jenna suggested before trailing off a little as her eyes moved over to little Clara, who was only interested in chewing away at the small plastic. "I mean, Jeremy and I could go grab some food and come back with it."

Elena sighed, leaning forward against the countertop. "No, Aunt Jenna. We didn't come back so I could hide out. We came back to get back to our lives… with the minor changes, of course. But still, I'm not ashamed of her."

"I know, honey. I know you're not ashamed of her but… You took it real hard when you first had her and decided you couldn't give her up," Jenna said, making a point. "You got used to it then but now you're back in Mystic Falls, where no one knows about Clara. Well, except for Bonnie but she doesn't count."

"Hey!" a voice floated in just before the owner appeared, wearing a faux-offended look on her face, her green eyes looking betrayed. "I will not be talked about like that."

"Bonnie!" Elena grinned in excitement as she moved towards her best friend, immediately wrapping her into a hug. "Oh, it's been so long since I've seen you!"

"Um, dude? You saw me like, four or five weeks ago," Bonnie said, pretending to struggle against Elena's koala-like grip.

"That's more than a month," Elena argued back, keeping a firm hold on Bonnie's smaller frame.

"True, smart ass," Bonnie laughed as she finally wrapped her own arms around her best friend's waist. Jenna smiled at the two girls as she finished up. Bonnie pulled back. "Anyways, did I hear plans of going to the Grill? 'Cause I'm starving."

Elena raised an eyebrow at her aunt, a wide smile on her face. "I'm going, Aunt Jenna. How about you?"

Jenna paused for a few moments, glancing between her niece, her niece's best friend and her niece's daughter. Hesitation was all over her face but as she met Elena's eyes again, she caved. "Fine. Get Jeremy off of his ass and I'll grab Clara."

Bonnie perked up at the sound of the young infant's name and she instantly turned her head towards the highchair, where a gurgling Clara sat, chewing on her fingers instead of the teething ring, which lay in the highchair's tray. "Oh my goodness!" Bonnie exclaimed giddily, rushing towards the little girl. "Ahh, you're bigger now! And so adorable!" Both Jenna and Elena laughed as they watched Bonnie lift Clara out of her chair and kiss every inch of her little chubby face. She shot a look at the girl's mother. "Now that you're living here again, if you wake up one day and she's not here, you'll know I've stolen her."

"I'll keep that in mind," Elena laughed. "I'll go get Jeremy."

Leaving Aunt Jenna and Bonnie in the kitchen with Clara, Elena made her way upstairs to find her brother perched on the window seat in the bedroom he had claimed as his own, his headphones on and blaring loudly. Elena tried to catch his attention in all sorts of ways, to no avail, and so she marched right up to him and pulled his headphones off his head, holding them high above him. "Come on, we're going out for dinner."

Jeremy instantly scowled at his sister as he tried to grab a hold of his headphones unsuccessfully. "No, thanks."

"You haven't eaten all day, Jer," Elena said back, pulling the headphones behind her back, out of his reach. She looked down at the sixteen year old, only to receive a dirty glare back. Of course, she was used to it by now. He'd been especially indifferent to her ever since he'd learnt she'd fallen pregnant and became even more so after Clara's birth almost eight months before.

"You sure you want to go out with her?" he questioned bitterly, his glare not dropping from his sister. Elena sighed involuntarily, placing a hand on her hip as she glanced back down at him.

"What's the problem with that?"

"I dunno," Jeremy shrugged. "What if you run into Stef -"

"If I run into him, I'll deal with it just fine," Elena cut him off, her voice firm. "I'm not scared, Jer. And I'm not gonna feel ashamed of her because despite the way she came about, she's one of the best things to ever happen to me. So either get over it already or leave me the hell alone from now on."

Jeremy stared up at his older sister, his eyes still hard as he breathed deeply as to not lash out at her. Standing up, he kept his eyes firmly on her before passing by her, harshly bumping into her shoulder and snatching his headphones from her as he went.

Elena took a moment, closing her eyes and feeling the stinging feeling in them she had become familiar with in the past year. Sure, she was used to Jeremy acting like that towards her and Clara, but the sting never lessened. Taking in a deep, recomposing breath, Elena slowly forced a smile onto her face before turning and walking back down the stairs to the others.

* * *

The Mystic Grill was pretty full that Thursday evening, as most high schoolers had nothing better to do on a cold, winter night. Chatter filled the entire Grill, laughter of young children mixing with it. It was warm and familiar, something that made Elena beam happily.

"Come on," Jenna said quietly, motioning for the small group to follow her towards an empty booth. Elena held onto Clara securely, pressing her lips to her daughter's head lingeringly as she walked behind Jeremy and in front of Bonnie. She could feel a few eyes turn her way as they recognised her but she kept walking forward, ignoring every single one of them.

"What are you looking at?" Bonnie snapped as she slid into the booth beside Elena, her eyes narrowing at a couple of kids Elena knew to have been in her Junior classes before she'd left.

"Bon, just ignore them," Elena hissed, settling a little, fussy Clara into her lap. Both she and Jenna had thought it would be too much of a hassle to bring her stroller in with them.

Jeremy was once again, listening to his extremely loud music, headphones on, drowning out the world. Jenna turned to look at him sitting beside her, eyes wide before turning to look at Elena, shaking her head. "This boy…" Jenna sighed in frustration.

"He'll get over it soon enough, Aunt Jenna," Elena told her, though it was hard to miss the slight doubt her voice carried. Jenna nodded slowly before changing the subject to what they'd be eating.

Once they'd ordered and their food had arrived, the four quickly dug in. A whole day of unloading boxes and unpacking stuff could really kick the energy right out of you. As they all ate, they made small talk, subjects varying from school starting back up again to Jenna going back to work. Jeremy tuned out though, wanting nothing to do with them. Clara sat in her mother's lap, squirming around every now and then, gurgling happily as she watched everyone.

"Oh my God, there's Caroline," Bonnie groaned quietly as she looked across towards the bar, her eyes staring at the blonde cheerleader. Both Elena and Jenna swivelled their heads around and followed Bonnie's line of vision, their eyes landing on a blonde laughing and leaning against a blonde guy.

"They're still together?" Elena asked in surprise, watching her two friends… wait, were they even considered her friends anymore?

"I know, it's shocking she hasn't found another guy to fawn over yet," Bonnie sniggered a little, turning away and back to her meal. "But yeah, they've been together since that time before you left."

Elena nodded slowly, still watching the bouncy blonde giggling as Matt said something to her. A part of her longed to go back, when she'd been friends with everyone and comfortable around them and when there were no complications; not that Clara was a complication, but Elena was still a teenager after all, she still wanted to do all those things teenagers did.

A few minutes passed when Elena finally noticed she was still staring across at Matt and Caroline and she was about to turn away when she found Caroline's eyes staring right back. Elena swallowed nervously, her mouth suddenly feeling dry. Okay, so maybe she wasn't as relaxed about it as she had told Jeremy.

In her lap, Clara was beginning to get fussy, trying to stand in her mother's lap, her tiny hands grabbing a hold of Elena's chin. Elena turned her attention to her daughter, smiling a little as she quickly grabbed a hold of her securely, keeping her standing against her lap. For a moment, she forgot all about Caroline, and Matt.

"What's wrong, baby?" Elena questioned Clara quietly, kissing at her pudgy little fingers. Clara only mumbled something incoherent, smiling back at her mother, making Elena laugh a little.

"She's probably missing the attention," Jenna joked, laughing a little as she took a mouthful of her salad. Jeremy rolled his eyes beside her, obviously catching that bit of the conversation.

"Why don't you come over to Aunt Bonnie?" Bonnie said, holding out her hands to the young baby. She smiled when Clara turned in her mother's arms and held out her small arms. "Come on," Bonnie grinned, lifting Clara from Elena's arms and settling her into her lap. "There we go."

"Shit, Caroline's coming," Elena suddenly stiffened, muttering under her breath. Bonnie looked up and sure enough, there was Caroline, strutting her way over to them, confident as ever.

Elena," Caroline nodded curtly as she reached the table, watching the brunette carefully. "You're back."

"I'm back," Elena smiled a little up at the blonde, feeling the awkwardness settling in already. The two girls watched each other for a few moments before Elena glanced downwards, clearing her throat slightly before looking back up and forcing another smile. "So, how've you been, Caroline?"

Caroline smiled sarcastically, shaking her head a little. "Oh, I've been great, Elena," she answered, propping both hands on her hips. _Same old Caroline, _Elena thought, not missing the composed aura that radiated off of the blonde. "You back for good or…?"

"Um, yeah," Elena nodded slowly, glancing at Jenna a little out of the corner of her eye. Jenna only shrugged back. Elena turned her attention back to the blonde to find her eyes had narrowed.

"And who's that?" Caroline asked and Elena noticed Caroline's hazel eyes soften slightly as they moved over to Clara. Of course, no one could be too harsh when it came to a small child, not even neurotic, _clearly_-subtle Caroline. Elena looked over to her side, watching Clara in Bonnie's arms for a moment before glancing back at Caroline.

"That's –"

"She's mine," Jenna cut across her unexpectedly, her voice calm and smooth. Both Elena and Caroline turned to look at the older woman, each with a different expression. Caroline watched Jenna with wide, surprised eyes while Elena stared at her aunt in a half glare, half shock.

"Really?" Caroline finally questioned, her tone implying she wasn't so sure that was the truth. Jenna began to nod slowly, looking across at Elena. Elena tilted her head, giving her aunt a pointed look.

"She's mine, Caroline," Elena said smoothly, still glaring at her aunt. Caroline turned back to look at Elena, her hair flying around. Elena's eyes moved back to the blonde and she smiled. "That's my daughter, Clara." Elena caught sight of her aunt shrugging her shoulders and muttering 'I tried' and Bonnie sniggering beside her.

"Oh…" Caroline trailed, watching the young child as Bonnie pulled faces at her, making her giggle loudly. "I didn't know."

"I know you didn't," Elena nodded, smiling a little.

"So… Where's her father?" Caroline asked bluntly, regaining her firm confidence as she tossed her shoulder length golden locks over her shoulder.

"Uh, Caroline, Sweetheart, we'd like to finish our dinner, if you don't mind," Jenna said as sweetly as possible, forcing a smile on her face as looked up at the teenager.

Caroline narrowed her eyes a little before smiling and nodding. "Of course," she said, turning her head once more to Elena, "I'll see you around."

Giving Caroline a polite nod, Elena watched as the blonde walked off, letting out a relieved breath of air before turning to her family. Jenna smiled successfully, turning back to her meal, shaking her head a little at what had just taken place. Bonnie turned to face Elena, putting entertaining Clara on pause for a few minutes.

"Well, that went well," Jeremy smirked at his sister, earning a light slap to the arm, courtesy of Jenna. Elena glared over at her brother this time, determined not to let him get to her.

"That's Caroline for ya, she still needs to know everybody's business," Bonnie said, a little bitterness evident in her tone. "It's like her thing."

"Nah, she just hates me, that's all," Elena said, shrugging her shoulders in a manner that gave off she understood why anyone would hate her.

Bonnie rolled her eyes dramatically, easily avoiding Clara's hands that had reached up for her face. "She doesn't hate you, Elena. She's just… upset."

"I guess so," Elena nodded a little.

"So, Bonnie, heard much from _Stefan _lately?" Jeremy asked, turning his attention to his sister's best friend. Bonnie frowned over at him, watching him with irritated eyes. She could tell Elena had become a little uncomfortable at the mention of Stefan's name.

"Really, Jeremy? Really?" Bonnie questioned, narrowing her eyes pointedly at him.

"What?" he feigned innocence, smirking again. "Just asking something I'm curious about."

"Real sensitive, Jer," Jenna voiced, nodding sarcastically. "_Real_ sensitive…"

"So have you?" Jeremy persisted, keeping his eyes on Bonnie, ignoring his aunt and Elena's pleading looks.

"No, if you really want to know," Bonnie finally said. "After you guys left, we kind of drifted apart. I don't even know what's going on with him anymore, how he's doing, all that lovely info. And I never listened to any gossip concerning him or tried to find out anything."

A sudden surge of guilt washed over Elena's being, knowing that she had a hand in the distancing between her two best friends. She hadn't meant for them to drift away from each other; she never had wanted that for them. And she couldn't believe Bonnie had kept this from her, too.

"You never told me that," Elena mumbled, looking down at her half eaten meal.

Bonnie turned her head back towards her best friend. "Well, you'd feel guilty and all that, knowing you. And it wasn't your fault, so why make you feel guilty at all?"

"Maybe 'cause it is my fault," Elena bit out bitterly, her eyes hardening as she faced Bonnie, reaching out for her daughter. "Everything's my fault," Elena said, grabbing Clara before standing up. She looked at the three people still seated. "I'm not hungry anymore. I'll wait in the car."

Elena –"

"It's okay, Bonnie. Just finish eating and we'll talk more later," Elena said before turning and walking out with Clara in her arms.

Stepping out into the chilled air, Elena carefully brought Clara's body closer to hers, burying her head against her neck, hoping she could get her young daughter out of the cold winds quickly. She turned down the sidewalk, her eyes set on her aunt's car, briskly walking over in its direction, Clara's light whimpers filling her ear.

"Stefan!"

Elena came to a sudden halt at the sudden loud giggle that seemed to be coming from her left. She looked over nervously, squinting a little in the dark to find two people standing against the wall outside the Mystic Grill. Elena froze in her spot as she recognised who it was. She's know that build anywhere; she'd fawned over and memorised that build ever since she'd been fourteen, maybe even a little younger, too. It was Stefan; _her _Stefan.

_Guess Bonnie avoided telling me Stefan had someone._

Stefan's back was turned towards her, unaware of her watching eyes. It was clear he was smiling at the girl he had trapped against the wall from his voice.

"Stop it," the giggling voice sounded again.

"Make me," he said back to the giggling girl before he silenced her with what Elena guessed was a kiss. Her blood ran cold at the realisation, hating the fact that _her _Stefan was with another girl.

_It's not like he hasn't been with other girls before, Elena,_ her mind seemed to go off at her. _And who said you're allowed to feel any type of jealousy anyway?_

Elena wanted to hit her conscience, wanted to silence it. She also wanted to get out of there, if not for her, for Clara's sake, but her feet seemed to be glued to the spot, unmoving. Everything was silent for a few seconds, the only sound Elena could hear was the sound of her own heart pounding in her ear. And the occasional sound that came from the two embracing teenagers in front of her.

"Stefan…" the girl suddenly muttered, breathing hard as she pulled away from him. Her eyes instinctively looked over his shoulder and landed squarely on Elena.

"What is it?" Stefan asked slowly, a little curious but a little distracted by the beautiful girl in front of him. He slowly began turning around at the girl's persistent motioning.

Elena wanted to move, to get out of there as fast as her legs could carry her. She had thought she'd be fine had she come face to face with him, and maybe that had been true had he been alone, but he had a girlfriend – she was his girlfriend, right? – and that just made it harder for her. _Makes it harder for __**him **__and you know it,_ her mind retorted.

It's Elena Gilbert," the girl whispered.

And just like that, Stefan's eyes quickly met hers, burning right into them from where he stood. Elena wanted to disappear, wanted the ground to somehow open up and swallow her whole but of course, no miracle appeared to her aid. Instead, she stood there, brown eyes transfixed on the guy she'd been in love with since forever, her best friend, the father of her daughter. Stefan also seemed to be a little stunned by her appearance in Mystic Falls again.

"Elena…?"

Elena finally shifted a little, balancing Clara more comfortably against her hip, her eyes not moving off of Stefan's. But she knew she couldn't keep him there without saying anything…

"Hey Stefan," she said back quietly, her voice small. She sent him a small, hopeful smile.

Moving off the wall and turning his back to his girlfriend, Stefan stared back at Elena, his head tilting slightly in confusion. Was she really there? The last time he'd seen her was before Christmas during their Junior year, then she'd just disappeared with her family off of the face of the planet. "Hey…" he murmured softly. It wasn't until then that he finally noticed the bundle in her arms, beginning to whimper against her neck. Turning his eyes back to hers, Stefan buried his hands deep into his pockets, his initial shock slowly fading. "What are you doing here?"

_Doesn't sound like he's too happy, does it, 'Lena? _her conscience seemed to taunt her. Clenching her jaw for a moment, Elena forced another small smile. "Just… back home, that's all."

Stefan began to nod slowly, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Right…"

"Stefan," the girl behind him finally stepped forward, away from the shadows that kept her identity a complete secret. She grabbed a hold of his arm from behind and Stefan turned slightly, having momentarily forgotten about her. He watched her for a moment or two before he brought an arm around her, pulling her to him tightly, rubbing her arm affectionately for warmth. That's when Elena got a good look at the girl's face.

"Katherine?" Elena asked before she could stop herself, taking a couple of steps forward. "Katherine Pierce?"

Katherine's dark onyx eyes turned to Elena, her previous rival, a light smirk on her face as she watched her. "The one and only," she said smoothly, wrapping her arms around Stefan.

Elena glanced back up into Stefan's face. He only blinked back at her neutrally. "You two are together?"

"Almost eight months now," Katherine answered back, glancing up at Stefan. She turned her eyes back to Elena a second later. "Who would've thought, right?"

Elena paused for a few moments, frowning as she watched Stefan's face carefully. He barely showed emotion while watching her back. "Right…"

"Mmmm… Mummmm," Clara hummed loudly into her neck before pulling her head back to look into her mother's face. Elena looked down at the child still in her arms, suddenly becoming aware of just how cold it was and how bad it was for Clara to be outside. She needed to get her out of the cold air.

Planting a feather-light kiss to Clara's forehead, Elena glanced back up towards the couple. "It was nice seeing you again, Stefan," she said quietly. "I'll see you around."

And with that, Elena turned and walked away from the two, with mixed feelings coursing through her entire body.

* * *

"She has a kid… She has a kid…"

Katherine watched as her boyfriend paced around her bedroom, her chin in her hands as she lay on her stomach. She was bored but she was a little more concerned for him, too.

"She has a freaking kid…"

"Stefan," Katherine suddenly said, hoping her stern voice would stop him. It didn't. Stefan kept on pacing. "If you keep pacing, you'll burn a hole through my floor."

Stefan stopped for a moment, glancing over at his girlfriend before beginning to move again. "I just can't believe it," he muttered, ignoring Katherine, who was rolling her eyes for the umpteenth time.

"Yeah, neither can I," Katherine bit back, pushing herself up into a sitting position. "It might not even be her kid, Stefan."

"Um, the kid clearly mumbled something along the lines of 'Mum', so I'm pretty sure it's hers, Kat," Stefan said back.

"Okay so, she went and got herself knocked up, which is the last thing I ever thought Elena Gilbert would do. The result was a kid that she kept. Moving on already."

Stefan refrained from glaring over at Katherine and stopped mid-step, his thoughts drifting. It couldn't be… could it?

"Come on, baby," Katherine finally sighed, pouting a little. She slowly motioned for him to come sit by her. "Just forget about it for tonight and worry about whatever it is you're worrying about tomorrow."

Stefan looked up at his beautiful girlfriend, his eyes narrowed only slightly as he contemplated her words. Maybe he was overreacting a little. Okay, no, he was not. His best friend – _ex _best friend – had freaking given life to another human being without his knowledge. There was plenty of room for overreacting in that kind of situation.

Katherine scooted over to the edge of the bed, her legs swinging over the edge as she watched him with determined eyes. He slowly walked towards her, taking a seat right by her side. _One step closer, _she thought as she eyed him. His eyes were trained on the carpeted floor of her room, his mind seemingly far away from her at that moment.

Taking advantage of the moment, Katherine swiftly climb into his lap, bending her legs on either side of his body as she tossed her curly brown hair over her one shoulder, exposing her neck. Stefan turned his attention to the woman seated in his lap. She smirked lightly, leaning forward and pressing her lips to his chiselled jaw before pulling back a little. "We have the whole house to ourselves," she muttered, fluttering her eyelashes at him suggestively.

Perhaps he could worry about things tomorrow. It was a little too hard to focus on anything else at that moment when his sexy girlfriend was perched in his lap, pressing those desirable lips of hers to his skin, her hands gently pushing at his chest, sending him back against her mattress.

"You win," he muttered as she moved her lips down his neck, tongue trailing back up to his ear before she smiled in victory, pulling back slightly to look down at him.

"I always win," she told him sweetly, moving down and pressing her lips to his hungrily, making him forget about everything else for the moment.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I know, Jeremy's a dick. Just go with it. Also, the name Clara; I chose it long before I started watching Doctor Who, if anyone was wondering, hahaha It is just a mere coincidence :)**


	3. Chapter 2

**********Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries, nor any of the characters associated with it. Unfamiliar characters, however, do belong to me.**_**  
**_

* * *

**Chapter Two**

She'd survived the night. She'd survived the face to face encounters that she'd told herself and others she wasn't scared to face. She'd gotten through.

Elena didn't really admit it aloud, but she was kinda proud of herself. Although, seeing Stefan, _with Katherine Pierce_, had definitely stirred too many different feelings within her.

On one hand, she felt happy that he'd managed to move on and be happy with someone, even if it was Katherine. Despite the fact that she and Katherine had always hated each other, Elena was happy for him as long as he was happy with Katherine. On the other hand, having been in love with the guy since forever, it had killed her to see him so… loving with Katherine, even though she'd seen him loving with every other girlfriend he'd ever had. She knew she had no right to be jealous; she'd left without saying a proper, straight-to-the-point goodbye to anyone, but she couldn't help it.

Elena stared up at the ceiling of her daughter's room from the mattress she was lying on. They'd easily thrown a mattress onto the floor for the night since the beds had yet to be put together and assembled.

Clara was still fast asleep and Elena could see her, breathing, her little chest rising and falling. She smiled a little, watching her little baby, wondering how she couldn't even think of a life without her in it anymore. She was her entire world. She'd do anything for her.

Grabbing a hold of her phone that sat beside the mattress on the cold, hardwood floor, Elena checked the time, knowing there was no way she'd be getting more sleep than she'd already gotten. 6:07 her phone read. _Way too early_, her mind groaned.

Elena slowly pulled the multiple blankets off of her, feeling cold as she sat up. She stretched and slowly lifted herself off the mattress, standing up with her phone in her hand. Throwing on her robe and slipping into her uggs, she pulled her hair into a messy ponytail and quietly checked on Clara once more before carefully tiptoeing her way out of the room, shutting the door after herself, leaving it open just a crack.

Both Jenna and Jeremy were still asleep. Being as quiet as possible, Elena made her way downstairs, chucking her phone onto the hallway table and making her way into the kitchen, hoping to find something edible for breakfast.

Just as she was about to begin her search, a furious knocking came from the front door and Elena stilled in shock for a few moments. It was six in the morning. Who would be knocking on her door at that time of day?

Wrapping her robe around her slim body tightly, Elena slowly made her way to the front door, her hand lingering on the door handle before she finally pulled the wooden door open.

Stefan. Last person she was expecting.

"Hey," he muttered quietly, staring at her, studying her.

Elena stood still, cursing herself internally. She probably looked hideous at that time in the morning. Playing it cool though, Elena leaned against the door frame and smiled at him as if nothing could be wrong at all. "Hey yourself," she said calmly. "What're you doing here so early?"

"I, um, I just left Katherine's and –" Stefan instantly shut himself up, his eyes staring into hers. Elena's mouth formed an 'O' as realisation hit her that he'd probably spent the night with Katherine and had only left.

Then she smiled. "You mean, snuck out of Katherine's house?" she joked lightly. She wasn't expecting him to go along with it but Stefan soon smiled and chuckled nervously, shifting slightly on his legs and stuffing his hands into his pockets. Elena quickly frowned as she mentally kicked herself. "Ugh, it's freezing outside. Get in here."

She moved out of the way and motioned for him to step inside, which he did very slowly and cautiously, his eyes looking around at what he could see of the house.

"Sorry, the house is still in the process of getting organised," Elena explained to him as she shut the front door and turned to face him. Stefan smiled a little, nodding in understanding. Silence soon followed, settling uncomfortably between them. It just made Elena long for the days when the two could sit in utter quietness and feel completely comfortable with it. She looked into his eyes nervously. "Uh, so…?"

Stefan looked down at the floor, contemplating whether to put off what he initially came to do or to get straight to the point. He wanted to know – no, _needed _to know the truth. And so, he went with his instincts.

Glancing back up at her, Stefan fired her with a question. "Why'd you leave, Elena?"

Elena was a little caught off guard with that particular question. She hadn't been expecting that kind of question so soon. But he wasn't stupid. It didn't take a smart guy like Stefan more than a couple of hours to figure out what was going on. And considering he had seen her with Clara, Elena figured he knew most of what was going on and just needed confirmation.

"Because…" Elena began slowly, looking away as she wrapped her arms around her body self-consciously. She bit down on her lip nervously. "I thought it'd be easier for me in a new town."

"Because you were pregnant?" Stefan added bluntly, which stunned her a little. He'd always been so gentle, never to be blunt with anyone and especially not with her. She stuttered a little before nodding her head, confirming his question. "But why?"

Elena finally looked up at him, frowning. "Why? Because I was scared. Because I was barely 16, Stefan, and the only guy I'd ever slept with was my best friend and we'd decided to just forget about it. Because I knew if I stayed here, I'd get judged until I broke."

"So she's mine?" Stefan quickly cut to the chase. He didn't want to wait any longer for the truth.

Elena's eyes narrowed dangerously as she shook her head in disbelief at him. "What other guy have I ever slept with, Stefan? She's yours and _she _goes by Clara."

Stefan froze in his spot, suddenly losing the ability to speak as the reality of it all began hitting him. He was a father. He was a father to a little girl he hadn't known even existed. It didn't take him long to gain back his voice though. "And you didn't tell me… why?"

"Because you would've freaked out! You and I both agreed to forget and move on, Stefan, and imagine I'd just walked up to you one day and told you I was pregnant with your child," Elena said quickly, keeping her voice steady despite the nagging feeling telling her she needed to just break down. "I didn't want anything ruined for you. Your future, your reputation, your relationship with your brother was even hanging on its last thread. Can you imagine what could've happened if I'd brought a baby into that mix?"

"You think just because you kept it a secret and moved towns that it didn't ruin things for me?" Stefan laughed bitterly, staring her down. "My best friend left without even saying a proper goodbye –"

"I tried –"

"No, Elena, you didn't try," Stefan cut her off quickly. "I was ruined from the moment I caught news that you'd up and left with your family. As for the other things; my future? I could've figured it out, my reputation? You really think I cared more about my reputation than you?" _Cared._ Elena struggled to keep her eyes from watering. "As for my brother, whether he liked it or not, it was none of his freaking business, and you knew that was the case. You knew I didn't care what Damon thought about anything I happened to do."

Elena looked back down at the floor, avoiding his gaze, unable to look him in the eyes any longer.

"So now that you've given your reasons, what's the real reason you kept me in the dark about _my daughter_?"

"I already told you."

"_Elena_," Stefan stressed her name out, warning her, letting her know she couldn't lie to him any longer than she had already.

Elena looked back up at him, the first of her tears falling as she watched him. She could tell he was extremely frustrated with her and their situation. "I can't," she told him quietly.

Stefan's eyebrows shot up as his eyes widened at her in disbelief. "You can't?" he questioned. Elena looked back down. Stefan shook his head at her. "You can't. Okay."

Before she knew what was happening, Stefan made his way past her in a hurry, his hand flinging the front door open angrily.

"Stefan!"

"Just forget it, Elena," he said to her, not bothering to look back at her.

Elena watched him walk away from the house, her tears finally spilling.

* * *

The last couple of days of the break seemed to drag on forever for Elena. She'd remained closed up in the new house, helping her aunt set up and unpack the rest of their belongings to keep her mind off of things. If she even let her mind drift to that morning conversation with Stefan, she knew she'd instantly burst into hysterics, and so, she kept herself occupied as much as she could.

Soon enough, it was first day back at Mystic Falls High and there was no way on Earth the butterflies in her stomach would settle down any time soon. _Butterflies? More like fucking bats._

Elena got out of bed extra early, unable to go back to sleep. She'd found it harder to get a decent sleep ever since they'd arrived back into Mystic Falls. Perhaps it wasn't gonna be as easy as she'd initially thought it would get after a day or two.

Hopping into a hot shower, drying and pinning her hair back, brushing her teeth and getting dressed in skinny jeans, knee-length boots, simple shirt and her old leather jacket, Elena glanced at her reflection in the mirror, forcing a smile onto her face. Hopefully, her first day back wouldn't be too bad. After all, it was her Senior year. After everything would blow over, Elena wanted to be able to enjoy her last few months as a high school student.

Making sure she'd packed everything she'd need, Elena quickly made her way out of her newly set up bedroom and into her daughter's, finding Clara already awake, sitting up in her crib, waiting for the first person to come by her. Elena instantly smiled at the sight as she made her way towards Clara.

"Good morning, Princess," Elena said, putting on her baby voice as she lifted Clara out of her crib, kissing her cheek. Clara gurgled in response, blowing a little bubble before giggling and grabbing her mother's face. Elena laughed a little, shaking her head as she watched. "Let's get you ready so Aunt Jenna won't have to do it."

Changing Clara was quick and easy, as Elena had had a lot of time to get used to it and perfect it. Once she had finished, Elena picked Clara up once again and made her way out of the bedroom to find Jenna exiting her own.

"Morning, 'Lena," Jenna yawned loudly, stretching her arms a little. Clara mumbled something in response before bursting into laughter. Jenna smiled widely. "Oh, come here, you," she said as she approached the mother and daughter, grabbing Clara out of Elena's arms. She glanced over at her niece. "Why don't you go get some breakfast?"

"What about Cla –"

"Don't worry about it. I've got her," Jenna smiled again as she looked at the child in her arms. She looked back up at Elena and sent her a pointed look. "Go."

Sending her aunt a grateful smile, Elena turned to head down the stairs only to stop and turn on the spot, a look of confusion and curiosity overcoming her. "Hey, where's Jeremy?"

"I think I heard him already leave," Jenna mumbled, shaking her head. "That kid needs to sort out some issues."

"Can't say I blame him for being the way he is, Aunt Jenna," Elena sighed as she slowly turned back around and descended the stairs. "He has his reasons…"

Elena didn't stay too long for breakfast, only eating about half of her meal before jumping up, running to give her aunt a quick hug and Clara a soft kiss goodbye before hurrying back to her room, grabbing her bag, phone and car keys and leaving the house. She glanced at her watch quickly, smiling slightly, knowing she'd make it in time to where she and Bonnie had decided to meet before school started.

"You nervous?" Bonnie asked. Elena laughed a little, looking over at Bonnie, sensing her _own_ nervousness.

"A little," Elena replied. "But bringing up the fact that I'm nervous is not gonna help me in the slightest, Bon."

Bonnie grinned sheepishly as she stuffed her car keys into her oversized handbag, clutching her folder and books tighter. "I know but like, I'm here for ya, dude."

"Right… dude," Elena mocked her playfully before the two giggled. The two best friends soon began walking towards the school's entrance.

Upon walking through the doors, the hallways slowly began to quieten as students noticed the return of Elena Gilbert. Elena noticed some of them to be in her grade and some that were around when she'd still been in Mystic Falls a year before. It was odd, having so many eyes on her, so many _familiar _eyes watching her, but she just simply learned to ignore such things. Being pregnant for nine months and having a newborn on your arm for another eight sure had gotten her tonnes of questioning looks.

The stares, Elena could handle, but soon after, whispers followed. Elena could hear snatches of some of the things people were saying.

"_That's Elena Gilbert?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_But didn't she leave like, a year ago or something?"_

"_Yup."_

"_Damn. She's hotter than I remember." _Elena turned a deep shade of red as she kept walking, slowly moving closer to Bonnie.

"_Shut up. I hear she had a baby or something. I overheard Caroline Forbes telling someone."_

"I am going to _kill_ Caroline and her big mouth," Bonnie muttered from between her clenched teeth. "Who does she think she is, telling everyone _your _business?"

Elena sighed deeply as the two slowly came to a stop at Bonnie's locker. "It doesn't matter, Bon. Everyone would've found out sooner or later anyway so…"

"I know but still… I mean, how loud mouthed can you get?" Bonnie snapped a little, shoving some books she wouldn't need for her first two periods into her locker and taking another out. Elena shrugged helplessly before her attention shifted over to the other side of the hallway aligned with lockers.

There Stefan stood, smiling down at Katherine, her arms wrapped around his waist as she looked up at him, speaking and giggling. Elena examined the two, noticing just how happy Stefan looked. How happy Katherine made him. Bonnie almost immediately noticed that Elena's attention had completely drifted away from her and she slowly followed Elena's line of vision, her green eyes landing on Mystic Falls High's 'Golden Couple', as some put it.

Bonnie looked back over at her best friend, noticing the heartbroken look on Elena's face as the brunette watched the couple across from them. Slowly, Bonnie placed a comforting hand on Elena's arm, bringing her attention back to her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about them all this time. I just… thought that you'd rather do without that information."

Elena quickly shook her head. "No, no, Bon. It's not your fault," she forced a small smile. "You're just being, you know, the perfect friend you are. And besides," she went on, "Stefan was never really mine to begin with. He can be with whomever he wants to be with. And I'm not going to stand in his way."

Bonnie knew that inside, Elena was most certainly stinging and hurting but she admired her friend's strength to put on a brave face for everyone. "You don't have to pretend to be okay with it with me, 'Lena."

"I know," Elena nodded slowly, clutching her own books closer to her chest as her smile faded. "But what's the point in wallowing in self pity? It's not gonna fix anything."

Bonnie smiled sympathetically, moving forward and giving her friend a quick, comforting hug.

Elena put on another smile as Bonnie finally pulled back. "I'm gonna go to administration now. I'll meet you in class. Hopefully."

Bonnie grinned, nodding before watching Elena walk away from her.

* * *

"... So why don't you guys go on and get your textbooks open so we can pick up where we left off before your break," Elena heard Alaric suggest to his History class, whom she would be joining. Luckily, she knew Alaric from outside of school as he was dating Jenna, and he'd been very understanding of the circumstances in the past year and had been very supportive and maintained a long distance relationship with her aunt. So that brought up the count to two people knowing about Clara from the get go in Mystic Falls.

Elena listened carefully as the whole class groaned in annoyance and Alaric chuckled in response, flipping open his own copy of the History textbook. Taking in a deep breath, Elena gently knocked against the wooden door and turned the handle slowly before stepping in. Literally every head swivelled around to look at her, causing her to blush lightly. Whispers swept through the class not even two seconds later.

Looking over at Alaric, Elena found him smiling at her warmly, allowing a comforting sense of relief to wash over her. "Ah, Elena," he said goodnaturedly. He turned to the class, which quietened upon his look. "Guys, I'm sure you all remember Elena Gilbert."

Elena glanced at all the familiar faces and found that a few stood out. Bonnie was the first person she noticed, who was smiling encouragingly at her. Two seats behind her sat Stefan and in the seat beside him, Katherine. On the other side of the room sat Caroline and Matt and right at the back, Elena recognised an old friend, Tyler Lockwood. Just her luck to be thrown into a class with all of them at once.

"Why don't you take a seat, Elena?" Alaric suggested kindly, gesturing to the few empty seats left in the classroom. Elena looked over her options; two empty seats in the back next to Tyler, one right by some jocks she rarely had associated with and that were shooting her looks that made her uncomfortable, and the last one was right by Bonnie at the front. She assumed she'd saved it for her, just in case.

Quickly making her way over to her obvious choice, Elena placed her things onto the table before sitting down, finding everyone still watching her. Beside her, Bonnie rolled her eyes dramatically before turning in her seat and scowling at everyone.

"Why don't you guys take a picture? It'll last longer," she spat out bitterly before turning back. Elena shrunk in her seat.

Alaric cleared his throat awkwardly before glancing down at his book. "Oh-kay... Moving on now..."

For the remainder of the lesson, Elena noticed some of the looks her classmates were giving her, causing her to shrink even further in her seat. A few comments were made, too, whispered in hushed voices, not meant to be heard. But what if they'd meant for her to hear them?

"Can't believe she got pregnant," some guy whispered from behind her towards the end of the lesson as Alaric continued on explaining whatever it was he was explaining. Elena had tuned out a long time ago.

"Innocent little Elena is not so innocent, I guess." Elena knew that was Katherine. She could hear the bitterness dripping from her smooth voice.

"What a slut," some cheerleader joined in.

"Hey, she's not," Dana, an old friendly acquaintance said. "These things can happen you know."

Alaric chose that moment to sigh dramatically as he turned to the few students whispering. "I see a conversation happening over there," he said in annoyance. He looked from one student to the other before his eyes landed on someone. "Care to share, Miss Pierce?"

Everyone turned their attention to the confident brunette, even Elena, who'd heard everything. Katherine easily smiled, leaning forward against her table. "Oh, we were just talking about how _lovely _it is that Elena's back," she told him, her eyes moving from Alaric to Elena. "I mean, you can't really blame us, Mr Saltzman. We haven't seen her in over a year or something."

Elena stared at Katherine for a few moments, holding her firm gaze before her eyes moved to the seat beside Katherine's, finding Stefan was watching her, too.

"Fair enough, but please, keep your conversations for lunch or something," Alaric excused her, nodding a little. "Now, where were we again? Oh, yes..."

Elena slowly turned back around, her head falling in her hands as she felt most eyes settle back on her. This was not going to be easy.

* * *

"How was school?"

Jenna smiled as she came into the entrance hallway, Clara perched on her hip as Elena closed the front door, placing her car keys in their rightful place in the small drawer of the hallway table. She turned back to her aunt, a solemn look on her face as she shrugged a shoulder. "Fine," she answered shortly.

Jenna's smile slowly faded as she realised her niece's first day back at school was anything but fine. "Oh honey..."

But Elena stood strong, shaking her head. "No, seriously, Aunt Jenna. It was fine. I wasn't expecting open arms anyway so it doesn't matter."

"Did you see Alaric?" Jenna asked, bouncing a squirming Clara.

Elena nodded, leaning against the table and crossing her arms over. "Yeah, I have him for History. Again," she told her. "And frankly, he and Bonnie were the only ones whom I was able to hold normal conversations with."

Jenna sent a sympathetic look her niece's way, knowing it must've been a hard day for her. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"Seriously, Aunt Jenna; don't be," Elena shook her head, forcing a small smile. "Can I have my baby back now?"

Jenna instantly grinned, glancing down at the alert child in her arms and nodding. "Sure, she's been wanting you for the past hour and a half," Jenna informed the young mother. She moved forward, carefully handing Elena her daughter. "She missed you."

"Oh, I missed her, too," Elena said, hugging her daughter tight to her body. Pressing several kisses to her head, Elena continued, "So, so, so much!" to the little girl's shrieks of laughter.

Jenna laughed as she watched her niece for a few moments, smiling as she placed a hand on Elena's arm comfortingly. "It'll get easier, you know."

"I know," Elena smiled back, nodding in understanding before walking off to spend some time with her precious little bundle of joy.

Jenna sighed as she watched Elena go, wondering how long it'd be before everything toned down for her.


End file.
